Miracles in the Mess

I have missed this blog and certainly owe all who wrote me while I was away a HUGE hug of gratitude. I apologize it's taken me this long to explain, I do realize that I went missing for way too long. The plain and simple truth is that life happened. The past year has been a test of my faith with an abundance of challenges. In order to preserve my sanity, I needed to scale back on life's extras to simplify what felt like chaos. I won't get into all the details but will tell you it has been a bumpy road and unfortunately, doesn't appear to be getting smoother any time soon.

What's different now however, is that my strength continues to grow and I've found the ability to walk through life even when it seems to be crumbling upon me. Although difficult to see, through the chaos there is often a beautiful mess.  My greatest fears can be conquered and moments of despair can be overcome with unimaginable power that comes from a power greater than myself.

I recently read the book, 'You'll Get Through This', by Max Lucado which I highly recommend. I carry this message with me:

You'll get through this.

It won't be painless.

It won't be quick.

But God will use this mess for good.

Don't be foolish or naïve.

But don't despair either.

With God's help, you'll get through this.

We are never alone, everything happens for a reason and in the end the sad will make sense.

Believers

 

     This stuck a cord with me as soon as I read it.  I immediately printed it and placed it on the fridge. I especially loved the reminder to, "surround yourself with those who see greatness within you, even when you don't see it yourself."

    There are days when I wake up feeling as if I could conquer the world and other's when I wake up feeling inadequate; whether feeling as if I haven't accomplished the goals I had attended to at this time in life, petty stress from work, appearance, family or nearly anything in between.

    In general, many people are far too hard on themselves (including myself) when it comes to categories such as work, family, being a good wife/husband, social life and meeting goals. In fact, according to a recent study published by Huffington Post, "78% of people feel less-than," when it comes to these categories. This is really unfortunate although not too surprising. The phrase "keeping up with the Jones'" comes to mind. As much as we may tell ourselves that keeping up with other's is not important, in some capacity we do care, it's in our chemistry and in a certain capacity can be a good thing that evokes motivation.

    I urge you to keep this quote in mind when thinking of the people you surround yourself with. If you find other's to be putting you down, being flaky with your time, and generally not reciprocating the kindness your giving then  they may not be the type of person you spend your time investing in. As we grow up, I think we learn the hard way that not all friends are life-long friends. People change due to many circumstances but what is refreshing is to know that your best friends will be there for you no matter what. Surround yourself with those that cherish you, lift your spirits when your down, laugh with you so hard your stomach hurts, provide genuine advice in tough times and ultimately bring you happiness. Life is FAR too short to waste your time on anything but the best.

 

Balance

"Imagine life as a game in which you are juggling some five balls in the air. You name them - work, family, health, friends and spirit … and you’re keeping all of these in the air. You will soon understand that work is a rubber ball. If you drop it, it will bounce back. But the other four balls – family, health, friends and spirit – are made of glass. If you drop one of these they will be irrevocably scuffed, marked, nicked, damaged or even shattered. They will never be the same. You must understand that and strive for balance in your life.”

A Simple Hello

"The most wonderful gift one human being can give to another is, in some way, to make that person’s life a little bit better to live."- John  Assaraf

What a simple yet powerful notion. We can get so caught up with the busyness of our day that we forget about the people around us. How nice it is to get an unexpected greeting from a clerk or coworker. It's enough to possibly make your day better in some aspect. Throughout the day, think of doing something to make someone's life better. It can be as easy as asking someone how their day is to a much more involved situation of helping someone. Doing something kind for others, whether you know them or not will in turn make your life much more fulfilling.

The Crazy One's

I often have a hard time grasping that me, one person, can do anything alone to change the world. Of course I strive to do my best, but what I'm realizing is that life will continue the same unless we grab ahold of our morals and what we believe to be true. For those who perhaps follow life to please other's and go unnoticed, this notion to be one of the 'crazy one's' is a bit overwhelming. It is true however that life needs those crazy one's to set new standards, make new inventions and really to keep things above status quo. Life is constantly moving and growing, it's time to stop and think about how you can leave your footprint on this world. Whether big or what you might consider small, it's your footstep and as we all know, our footprints are unique and valuable.

"When you grow up you tend to get told the world is the way it is, and your life is to just live your life as it is and try not to bash into the walls to much. But that's a very limited life. Life can be much broader, once you discover one simple fact. And that is, if everything around you that you call life was made up by people that are No smarter than you. And you can change it. You can influence it. You can build your own things that other people can use. It's to shake off this erroneous notion that life is just there and your just going to live it verses embrace it, change it, prove it, make your mark upon it. And once you learn that..... You'll never be the same again!"~ Steve Jobs ~

 

Wow...I'm about to get really honest here

 

I've been thinking lately about the way we portray ourselves. Take for example, social media where we are bombarded with happy posts many of which tend to state, "Flowers just because...," "Couldn't be happier," or "So in love with my husband and family." I genuinely appreciate these posts and hope that they are authentic. I'm guilty of such statements but, it's got me thinking, are we genuinely that happy or do we have this internal need to share with other's perhaps an exaggerated version of life's reality?

Let's be honest, your much more likely to post something happy than really explain hardships for all your loved one's viewing pleasure. Is this our way of showing that our life is better than other's, or is it that we don't feel comfortable sharing our hardships for fear it appears weak? Feeling down and going through adversity are just a fact of life, unfortunately.

Personally my fear when life get's tough is that I become the dreadful 'Debbie Downer.' I typically put on a brave and happy face only because I feel I have to. Society hasn't exactly made it acceptable to share with other's our true feelings and really get into those deep and meaningful conversations. For example, If you run into someone you haven't seen for awhile you're most likely to say, "I'm doing great, how are you?" rather than, "My life is actually pretty shitty right now to tell you the truth."

This inability or should I say, need to 'appear' happy at all times have led me to some pretty difficult situations where I'm not only being dishonest with myself but also my friends and family.

This comes with great humility to share with all of you that I have had the hardest year to date. I have struggled with anxiety and depression for some time now and some days it has felt debilitating. After much hard work, I am on the mend and so proud to say that I have decided to live a healthier lifestyle which for me was essential to cut out my alcohol consumption. I haven't had a sip of alcohol in 4 months which is still pretty shocking to say! My deep depression came as a great surprise to nearly everyone I know. This is because I felt the need to keep up with society and be "okay." My decision to get sober was because I realized I was using it as a cover to take the edge off or to not feel which ultimately led to a greatly feeling of hopelessness the next day.

Today, I am clear minded, I feel emotions (both good and bad) but the best thing of all is that I feel. I don't have to hide behind the glass or the facade any longer. The struggles of personal and family illness has become bearable rather than giving me complete sadness. I can tell you exactly how I'm feeling and I don't fake a smile. I'm authentic, I'm how God made me, yes, terribly emotional but loving and passionate which are traits I'm proud to have. I'm not sorry about, nor do I really care what other's say because I have the confidence and the love I had always longed for. My hope for you is that you reach out if you are struggling, from my experience people are inspired and proud. My hope is that you find a content version of yourself and live a life of authenticity where your free to voice your opinion and show people TRUELY how you feel!

Welcome...I'm Lovestruck!

Welcome friends to Lovestruck! It's been 2 years since I last blogged and boy have I missed it! I got caught up in a very unfortunate technical malfunction resulting in the deletion of my previous blog...I swear It had nothing to do with the ignoring of the suggested backup everyday! My pouting is finally become immature and not so cute and I'm ready to embark in a new blogging journey. Fashion, food, crafting and hopefully some inspiration along the way. The New Year is something I've been genuinely looking forward to and can't wait to be able to share the journey with all of you!